


Back Before I was Me

by jumpsoap



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Ignoct Week, M/M, just a nice city dating au, with a generous helping of reincarnated lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-10 11:56:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11691123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jumpsoap/pseuds/jumpsoap
Summary: Ignis had wanted to visit Insomnia his entire life, so when he finally got there, he wasn't surprised to feel a little déjà vu--a lifetime reading and dreaming about the place had branded the architecture, the landscape, the history all into his subconscious. He hadn't expected to pass by a man so painfully familiar that he wanted to abandon all his plans just to track him down again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ignoct week!! This is for day 3, Reincarnation AU. Not proofread or beta'd. I wanted to post the first chapter while it was still, you know, day 3.

Ignis couldn’t help gawking as he stepped out onto the street from the subway station, craning his neck to get his first proper view of Insomnia, buildings rushing up to the sky, rail lines and overpasses winding around them. Locals pushed past him on their way out of the station, and Ignis hiked up the bag on his shoulders and patted his pockets, shimmying past them to a more sheltered spot behind the stair rail. Petty theft was more common here than in Tenebrae, the travel literature all said.

Everything in order, he pulled out his phone and called his contact in the city, a former classmate who had generously offered him her couch for the nights he would be downtown.

“Hello, Aranea?” He asked when the line picked up.

“Specs, you’re early,” Aranea said, by way of greeting.

“I haven’t even told you where I am,” Ignis objected.

“You’re in the city. I can hear those cute little cactuars that chirp when you can cross the street. If you took the subway from the train station, you’re probably near Citadel Park, right?”

Ignis saw a map posted near the stairs he had just climbed up, and peered through the railing to examine it. “Yes, I believe so.”

“Not a bad place to start your sightseeing,” Aranea told him. “You got a lot of luggage?”

“Just a backpack.”

“Good lad,” Aranea said, then laughed at her own imitation of his accent. “Go hang out at the park, check out a museum or two, and I’ll meet you in a couple hours to get you set up at my place.”

With his orders in place, Ignis set off to cross the few blocks to Citadel Park, a public area in the heart of Insomnia that included the preserved ruins of the palace that used to house the government of Lucis.

The city was gorgeous, metropolitan and modern. Very different from the small college town in Tenebrae Ignis had spent all his life in. Even so, Ignis felt an uncanny sense of belonging, walking down the streets of Insomnia. _That’s what watching Lucian movies for twenty years will do to a person_ , he thought.

Reaching the park and its surrounding area felt like coming upon an unexpected clearing in a dense forest. The sky opened up, a crystalline blue, illuminating the rare green slopes of grass. Ignis could see the citadel itself from here. The large walls that surrounded it in illustrations and historical dramas had long since been torn down, only a few segments remaining for posterity.

People filled the park, spilling over into what must have once been a heavily guarded area inside the citadel walls, going in and out of its outbuildings. Children ran along the grass; a small group of musicians played in the shadow of one of the wall segments.

Ignis’s gaze was drawn to a fountain on the near side of the park as he entered the open area. Circling around, he saw that when viewed from the front, the fountain and the statue at its center were framed nicely by the remaining architecture of the citadel behind them.

The statue looked very old, the details of its subjects worn by time and weather, but it and the fountain were clean and well-maintained. Only a few coins, and petals from the luscious garden of blue flowers that framed it, blemished the clear water. The statue depicted a man seated on a grand throne, all of dark, glossy stone, and a woman kneeling at his side, carved from gleaming white marble. There was a plaque on the stone bench surrounding the fountain, which Ignis knelt down to read.

The Final King and Queen of Lucis

The Lucian monarchy came to an end with the deaths of Noctis Lucis Caelum CXIV and Lunafreya Nox Fleuret. Legend tells that the star-crossed couple sacrificed their lives in order to banish the Endless Night and usher in a new age for humanity, free of gods and daemons.

The city of Insomnia honors their legacy with this sculpture, dedicated on the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of the First Republic of Lucis.

Here, kneeling at the feet of a stone king long dead, ruler of a land he wasn’t even a subject of, Ignis felt a strange pulse of pride, and peace. Of course, anyone could be inspired by a story of sacrifice and love, he reasoned as he stood and dusted off his trousers, no matter nationality or timeframe.

It was a good place to sightsee, laid-back and safe-feeling with the density of families and merchants scattered about. Ignis bought a tray of dumplings from a cart by the road and lingered by the fountain, reading more from installations around it about its initial sculpting and subsequent restoration.

Eventually he did wander further into the citadel grounds, prickling at the sensation that there really should be _guards_ and _checkpoints_ and shouldn’t he have to show some identification?

But no one stopped him, although there were metal detectors at the entrances to the buildings that were now museums.

He was just considering going through the trouble of having his bag searched in order to gain entrance to the portrait gallery when his phone buzzed. Aranea had finished with her work, and sent him the address of her building so that he could meet her there.

Eager to shed his backpack, he hurried to the intersection she listed. He was too eager, apparently; crossing a large street, he collided, hard, with another pedestrian, both of them shouting and stumbling back, barely keeping their footing.

Ignis pushed his glasses back into place and looked for the other person in order to apologize for his inattention, only to be struck dumb at the sight of him: a young man, a little shorter than himself, dressed all in black. His hair was just as black, falling strikingly over his pale skin and bright blue eyes, and he was holding his hand up to his nose, covering the rest of his face. Despite this obstruction of his features, Ignis was completely disoriented by how _familiar_ he looked.

The insistent honking of cars that were waiting to turn finally roused Ignis from his trance enough to say, “I’m terribly sorry. Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” the man said, lowering his hand, and his face, his voice… “Sorry. I...” His hand twitched, as though he had stopped himself from reaching for Ignis. “I gotta-- Sorry.” He hurried past, and Ignis turned to watch him go. He might have stayed in that intersection, staring after him, if a car hadn’t crept so close it was almost nudging up against his leg.

It was a testament to how distracted Ignis had become that he didn’t realize anything was amiss until he was standing outside the door of Aranea’s apartment. Reflexively reaching for keys that wouldn’t be there even as he knocked on the door, he dug into his pocket and found it empty not only of keys, but of his wallet, as well.

The door opened, and Aranea clapped him on the shoulder. “Specs! Hey, what’s wrong?”

He almost laughed, although that definitely wasn’t an appropriate reaction in this situation. “I seem to have been robbed.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignis doesn't have to go without his wallet for long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter~ I'm pretty new to actually posting fic so I hope you like this :) 
> 
> No beta

Of course, it wasn’t  _ fun _ , losing one’s wallet on the first day of vacation in a strange city. It could have been worse, though.

Aranea was incensed, pacing her apartment as Ignis sorted through his luggage to check that nothing else had been taken. He had extra cash at the bottom of his bag, and he’d pared down his wallet to only necessities in preparation for the trip. Still, there were two charge cards he’d have to freeze, and he would have to carry his passport for identification for the remainder of his time abroad. 

“I told you this place stinks. Maybe you’ll rethink your romantic little notions about the big city.” Aranea said, crossing her arms and watching him as he ended a call with his bank. “Guess you’re gonna have to mooch off me for more than just a couple nights, now.”

“Oh, no, darling,” Ignis said, giving her his full attention for the first time since he’d arrived. She was a stern woman with striking silver hair and a presence that made her seem much more intimidating than a person of her stature ought to be able to achieve. 

If Ignis hadn’t grown accustomed to her bluntness over their years over education together, he would be wilting. He’d witnessed her bring several of their classmates--grown adults, college students--to tears, without ever meaning to be cruel. “I’m so sorry, I wouldn’t dream of imposing. I ought to be able to set up a tab at a hotel with my bank account.”

She let her hands fall to her hips. “You’re awfully calm.”

“One of the hazards of travel,” Ignis explained. “Can’t be helped.” 

“I almost managed to forget how stuck up you are.” 

“I believe the word is phlegmatic.”

“That’s disgusting,” she said, but she was grinning as she dropped into the seat across the small, round table that Ignis had his possessions piled on. “Don’t get a stupid hotel. You can stay here as long you want, you know.”

“I know. Thank you, Aranea. I do rather regret the amount of cash I had in that wallet,” he admitted. “Skipping a hotel for a day or so more would get me back on budget. I’d be happy to pick up some chores for you while I’m here, of course.”

“Pretty sure I owe you. Think about making some of that orange cake for me if you have the time, though.” She propped her head on her fist and watched Ignis pack his things back into his bag. “You didn’t get a look at whoever did it, did you?”

“Actually, I did,” Ignis said, a vivid memory of the man he had collided with making his stomach flutter. “A man ran into me while I was crossing the street. I only saw his face for a moment. I thought he’d hurt his nose, but I think he must have been trying to hide his face from me.” 

“Geez, no artistry at all,” Aranea commented, as though she could have performed a much more elegant theft.

“Do you think the police would be able to find him if I gave them a description?”   
“For lifting a wallet? They’re not gonna bother.”    
“I thought so,” Ignis said, sighing.

“What’d he look like?”

“Very handsome,” Ignis replied without much thought. “Young. Black hair, blue eyes. He had a bit of a… regal look about him.”

She laughed. “So the romantic notions survived. I’ll keep an eye out for your thief prince.” She’d begun to rise when Ignis’s phone began to ring on the table. His look of surprise must have been intriguing enough, because she sat again and spectated while he answered the call from an an unknown number.

“Ignis Scientia?” It was him.

“Speaking,” Ignis answered, hopefully succeeding in keeping the jolt of excitement he felt out of his voice.

“Yeah, um, so, we kind of crashed into each other, I dunno if you remember. And you dropped your wallet, I guess.” Ignis heard a woman’s voice, in the background of the phone call, and the man responded to it before he could say anything: “What? No! I’m not gonna tell him--” There was a rasping sound, the microphone being muffled, and Ignis was treated to several moments of unintelligible back-and-forth. 

Eventually, the man returned his attention to Ignis. “Sorry about that. Anyway, the point is, I’ve got your wallet, I haven’t taken anything. I’m gonna drop it by the police station on 57th and L. You had your contact info written down here so I just thought I’d… let you know.” 

“I’m staying only a few blocks from there,” Ignis heard himself say, as Aranea raised an eyebrow at him.  “Why don’t I meet you by the station?” 

A moment of silence. “Yeah. OK. Four thirty?” An hour and a half from now. 

“Alright. I’ll meet you there.” He ended the call.

“Don’t tell me your pickpocket had a change of heart,” Aranea said.

“He says it was an accident.”

She snorted. “Maybe he thought you looked handsome and regal, too.”

 

Aranea hadn’t been impressed with Ignis’s willingness to meet the pickpocket alone, but Ignis had caught the reluctant glance at her workstation when she’d offered to accompany him and assured her that he was quite able to look after himself, recent evidence notwithstanding.

Ignis spotted the man sitting on a low garden wall, tapping his heel and speaking to a handsome blonde woman sitting next to him.  _ His girlfriend _ ? Ignis thought.

He hailed them as he approached, the woman smiling gently, the man choosing instead to stare at the ground rather than meet Ignis’s gaze, even when he was handing Ignis’s wallet over.

“I didn’t catch your name on the phone,” Ignis said, tucking the wallet into his pocket.

“Oh.” The man glanced over at the police station, and Ignis bit the inside of his lip to keep from smirking.  _ Does he think I’m going to go report him? _

“I’m Lunafreya,” the blonde woman said, poking her companion gently in the arm. “And this is Noctis.” 

“Lunafreya and Noctis?” Ignis echoed. “Just like…” 

The pair responded with identically good-natured, but slightly pained, smiles. “Yeah, yeah,” Noctis said, apparently put at ease by this topic enough to actually look up. Ignis blinked at those blue eyes. “Trust me, we’ve heard it all. My dad never lets me hear the end of it.”  

“Ah, but we’re not involved,” Luna tacked on.

“Yeah! Yeah, we’re just--just friends. Not together.” 

“Not at all.”

“I see,” Ignis said slowly. “Well, Noctis, I must thank you for kindly returning my wallet.” 

Lunafreya and Noctis exchanged a charged glance, then Noctis sighed and spoke to Ignis, “Look, I--” 

“Awfully clumsy of me, dropping it like that,” Ignis interrupted him. “I’m lucky to have run into you, and not some pickpocket.” 

“...Right.” Noctis said, “But, see--” 

“Regardless,” Ignis said firmly, “You’ve safely returned it to me now. I only hope I can find some way to repay you.” And, well, new city, new Ignis: he screwed up his courage and winked.

The effect was immediate and dramatic. Noctis let out a startled laugh, color rushing into his face from the base of his neck to the tips of his ears.

“W-well, you have my number,” Noctis managed to respond. “So just, uh, let me know if you think of anything.” 

“Lovely to meet you,” Ignis said, shaking Lunafreya’s hand and then Noctis’s. “And until later, Noct,” A brief pause while Ignis’s brain caught up with what he had said. “Pardon me, Noctis--” 

“You can call me Noct.” They lingered for a moment, hands still joined. “If you want.”

Ignis released him.  “Noct, then,” he said, his palm tingling where the man’s fingertips had brushed it. He had to bite back a sudden urge to bow, low and formal. Instead, he nodded to Lunafreya and Noctis both before he took his leave, every fiber of his being protesting the distance he was putting between himself and this man he had only just met.


End file.
